Best of Dale Kistemaker – Ferrari

“Not everyone gets to meet the heroes of their youth. Rarer still is to find that these men are more than you ever expected: Human and real and still very much heroes.”

This is the first in our series of photo specials showcasing the wonderful work of Dale Kistemaker, spanning one of the most exciting eras of motorsport – the early ’80s.

As with so many of us, it was the exploits of Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Phil Hill and Dan Gurney that captured Dale Kistemaker’s imagination as a boy and ingrained a lifelong love of motorsport into his heart.

During the 1982 Long Beach Grand Prix, inspired by the sweet scent of high octane fuel, howl of early turbocharged Formula One motors and frenetic racing around the classic street circuit, he began efforts towards creating a history of Grand Prix photography. This sent him on an incredible journey through the world of Formula One, photographing grands prix, meeting people from all facets of the sport and ultimately producing Passion and Precision: The Photographer and Grand Prix Racing 1894-1984.

Today, he explores his collection of wonderful Kodachrome film and presents it on poeticsofspeed.com, preserving and uncovering incredible images from an inspirational period of motorsport, and rediscovering a wealth of stories that we can’t wait to hear. We’re honoured to have him share our work with us.